Morpheus Amoretti
by Sasusc
Summary: Hermione keeps waking up next to one Severus Snape, and neither one of them knows why. HGSS Not HBP or DH compliant for the most part
1. Gryffindor in Slytherin Clothing

Morpheus Amoretti

By: Sasusc

Spoilers: None

Summary: Hermione keeps waking up next to one Severus Snape, and neither one of them knows why. HGSS

Chapter One: Gryffindor in Slytherin Clothing

She woke up slowly. She was nice and warm, and her body just didn't want to move. She shifted a little to avoid the faint sunlight. She gave a slight frown in her sleep. That wasn't right. The sun didn't rise on her side of the castle. She tightened her arm around the pillow she was clutching to her side. It sunk, which wasn't unusual since it was a pillow after all, but it rose again. She laid her hand out flat. This was not her pillow. It was warm and hard. It felt…like a body.

She groaned. Now she had to wake up. There shouldn't be any one sharing her bed. She didn't have a boyfriend. Yes, her two best friends were both male, but she doubted that one of them was the body she was cuddling with at the moment. The only love she felt for her two friends were friendship. The small crushes she held for them over the years were not strong enough to override their friendship. Besides that, both boys were in a relationship. She doubted theirs or hers integrity would allow this morning to be.

She lifted her head up. It had been resting on the man's shoulders, she realized quickly. Everything was fuzzy. She quickly remedied that problem by shoving her mass of curly hair out of her face. She peaked at the face of the sleeping man.

The woman rolled to her back, arms straight to her sides. She closed her eyes, hoping to open them to her own bedroom. One eye slowly opened. Nope. That wasn't her usual ceiling. She shut it quickly. She had to be still dreaming. She couldn't be in bed with this man. She couldn't!

The man beside her mumbled something before turning over. Unfortunately for her, he turned towards her. He wrapped his arms around her waist, his dark head resting below her chin on her breasts. Her naked breasts, she became aware of when his hair tickled her naked skin.

Oh, God! This was worst then she thought. She was in bed with him. She was naked. He felt like he was naked. It was highly possible that they were both completely naked beneath the sheets covering them. Naked. What was she going to do? She experimented by trying to wiggle off of the bed. He held her tighter, refusing to let her go. She blew her hair away from her mouth and stared at the ceiling. She wasn't going to go anywhere until he released her. She was hoping that he didn't wake up before he did that.

How did she end up in bed with _him_? She tried to recall last night. There was a party last night. In the great hall, she recalled, where only the seventh years were allowed to go to. This was their last week in school. The headmaster had allowed a party for the graduating Seventh Years. She only went because Harry and Ron dragged her there. She hadn't stayed very long, only long enough for a drink or two before she escaped to the library where she had planned to spend the afternoon in the first place. Hermione frowned. She couldn't remember anything after that. Had she made it to the library? She had a fuzzy recollection of the library, but nothing specific. A book…

Oh my! He was stroking her side. She clutched the dark bed sheets underneath her. What was she going to do? Should she try to wake the man up? But no, she wanted to leave before he woke up. That did feel nice. If she was a cat, she would have purred. Her hands relaxed on the bed. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply. He lured her to sleep.

Hermione woke again some time later. She was cold. She sat up and stretched. It was probably time to wake up anyway, her mind told her. Her hair, she noticed, formed a cloud around her. She must have forgotten to braid it before going to bed. It was going to be a pain to get out all of those knots that formed while she was sleeping.

Something was wrong. Within seconds, she knew why.

"You're awake," she heard quietly from the side. She turn to look across the bed to the man who spoke. He was sitting in a chair wearing a bathrobe. His arms were folded across his chest. She would have screamed in surprised except for the expression he was displaying. She was so used to see a scowl or a malicious grin pinned to his face. Never a look of…what? Kindness? Concern?

"Professor Snape?" Those two little words brought back memories of earlier when she first woke up. She grabbed the sheets pooled at her waist. She must have fallen back to sleep. How could she have fallen asleep?

"Miss Granger, can you explain to me why you are in my bedroom and in my bed completely naked?"

She shook her head. She refused to look at him. He had to have watched her wake up. Couldn't he have woken her up? Say something before she had sat up and stretched? Before she had put on a show for the man?

"No, you won't tell me; or no, you cannot explain?" His voice was as smooth and as soft a night's whisper. She shivered slightly. Hermione told herself that it was the slight chill in the air, and not her professor's voice, that sent the shivers running down her spine.

"I…can't explain, sir. I don't remember what happened last night. I tried to earlier, but the last thing I could recall from last night was going to the library."

"Tried earlier?" She never noticed how dark his eyes were until now when they were staring at her with this much intensity. It was not the indifference look she had grown accustomed to over the years of sitting in his classroom.

Hermione blushed. "I woke up earlier. I wanted to leave before you woke up, but I must have fallen asleep while waiting."

Severus stood up. "There's a bathrobe at the foot of the bed. I couldn't find your clothes. When you are done, join me for breakfast." He quickly left and shut the bedroom door. The house elf had set up breakfast for two in the little nook area of his quarters.

Hermione came out of the bedroom rolling up the sleeves of the bathrobe. It was much to long for her smaller arms. Severus watched her sit down carefully. She didn't look like his student in his bathrobe and with her hair all messed up. Any other woman would have run screaming from his room at the horror of waking up in his bed. Any student would as well. She didn't. That surprised him. It also surprised him that he thought of Hermione Granger as a woman and not as child as he had remembered her to be--as he had thought her to be since the first day she arrived in his classroom.

They both picked up their folks and started to eat the meal before them. Neither spoke. They didn't want to ruin the calm and peaceful air around them with speech. Severus wiped his face before placing his napkin on top of his empty plate. He watched Hermione take one last bite before doing the same. Immediately, their meals disappeared.

"What do you remember about last night, Professor?"

Severus was startled that she would bring up the subject before he could approach it himself. He rubbed a hand across his forehead. He didn't remember much either. He briefly went to the seventh year party in the great hall to make sure no one younger had snuck in. He grabbed a quick drink before chasing off a sixth year Slytherin back to his common room. His memories after that were fuzzy. That, in itself, was unusual. He always knew what he did and was in control of himself, even under the influence of alcohol. To survive, he had to be in control of himself at all times least he slipped and risk his life.

"No more then you," he told her at last.

"We both don't remember what happened last night. There must have been something in common we both had that could affect us so." She stood up and started pacing. She needed to make a list. She spotted her professor's desk in the next room. There had to be paper and a quill there. She hurried to it and located a blank sheet of parchment and, surprising enough, a muggle pencil. That was much better then a quill. She carried the items to the table where the Potion Master was still sitting. She sat down and made two columns. She labeled one Snape and the other Granger. She glanced up eagerly. "Can you tell me everything you did yesterday? Everything you ate or drank?"

He leaned forward slightly to see what she had written. Ah, she wanted to find a common denominator between them to explain their lost of memory. She filled the column with his day. When he was finish talking, she wrote down her whole day. She crossed out the things she ruled out as not possible reasons.

"Well," she said when she narrowed the list down to a few items. "We both were forced to eat a lemon drop from Professor Dumbledore. I'm not accusing him of anything, you understand, but I wouldn't put it pass him not to tamper with it. Harry ate a handful of lemon drops once. He was loopy for the rest of the day."

Severus snorted. Dumbledore was sneaky. He always tried to lace his tea with all kinds of potions after his meetings with the Dark Lord. Hermione raised an eyebrow at him. He waved a hand for her to continue.

"Lets see," she said reading through the list. "We were both in the gardens this afternoon. There may have been something in the air that could have affected us. I don't remember smelling anything unusual when I was walking through it. Did you?"

"No. There shouldn't be anything in the gardens that would have this effect."

"And we both had a drink from the party last night." She tapped the pencil on the table, thinking. "I noticed several packages being delivered today that I know came from Fred and George's store. It's possible that they design something that could have been put into the punch." She circled it underneath her column. "That is the most plausible answer to this."

She chewed on the end of the pencil. "Hmm. I wondered what it was suppose to do. I'm sure the twins wouldn't make something to…" She blushed. "Well, what might have happened last night?"

Severus took the parchment from her and read through the list. He tapped a finger on the paper. "This potion here requires three sirens' gills. Do you remember touching them with your bare hands?"

Hermione glanced at the point his finger was pointing too. The Merpeople Lure Potion. She had brewed that potion yesterday morning to have a talk with the merpeople in the lake. She had read in several books about the merpeople over the summer break. She had developed a plan to find the merpeople in the lake at Hogwarts and learned more about them firsthand. The sirens' gills held the main property for luring the merpeople to a certain spot. Sirens were actually a type of salamander that resembles an eel. The gills were harmless to a muggle, but magic in a person could awaken the luring property. Hermione crewed her bottom lip in thought.

"I'm not sure. It's possible that I may have had accidentally came into contact with it. Why?"

"I was experimenting with a potion using a siren gill and tail. A siren lure could have been a contributing factor to this."

Hermione shook her head. "I don't think so. It would have been washed away when I was in the lake."

"The lake?"

She nodded. "Where else would I be using the potion, Professor?"

Severus was about to ask why she would be in the lake talking to the merpeople when he heard a noise from the fireplace, signaling someone's arrival. "Stay here," he hissed to her as he got up. He moved to the next room, which he was grateful wouldn't allow the visitor to see where Hermione was sitting.

"Severus, my boy! We missed you at breakfast," Albus Dumbledore claimed.

Severus leaned on the archway, crossing his ankles casually. "I decided to breakfast alone."

"Ah, that's too bad. You missed quite a show," he said with a twinkle in his eyes. "The Gryffindor seventh years all spotted green hair. They also had a snake painted on their left cheek. They lost a bet, or so I hear, to your House last night at the party."

"Really?" He arched a brow. "That'll make quite picture for my advance class this morning."

"Speaking of classes, don't you have one in a few minutes? The advance class?"

Severus glanced at the clock above the fireplace. He was right. He was going to be late for his class. He stiffened as he heard a noise behind him. Miss Granger must have realized that she would be late for the class as well.

"Are you entertaining a visitor?"

"No, Albus. Do I look like I'm dress for a visitor?"

Albus studied him over his half-moon glasses. "A lady visitor perhaps," he remarked. He grinned at him and pointed to his own neck. "Ah, that is the real reason why I haven't seen you since last night. I fondly remember getting love bites in my younger days." A dreamy look appeared on the older man's face. Severus made a note to check a mirror before leaving his quarters. Albus cleared his throat. "Yes, well, my boy, I'll leave you to your lady love. I'll have Miss Granger start the class. Your notes are in your office, correct?" Severus nodded. "I'll like to meet your lady, but alas, not today. I must inform Miss Granger of her duty." The Headmaster flooed out of the room.

Severus ran a hand through his hair. They both were in trouble. "He's gone," he called to her. Hermione stepped nearer to him.

"Is that connected with the Head Girl's room?"

"Of course not!"

"That was too much to hope for, wasn't it?" Hermione walked back to the bedroom. Severus followed her. He stopped as he noticed her on her hands and knees near the bed.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm looking for my wand!" she called out from beneath the bed. "Have you seen it?"

Severus glanced around the room. A quick look revealed nothing. "We don't have time to look for it. It might be wherever your clothes went off too."

Hermione sat up on her legs. "I can't leave here wearing your bathrobe!" she cried from her position on the floor.

Severus grabbed his wand on the armoire. He performed a quick transfiguration on the bathrobe into a school girl's uniform. Neither noticed the uniform held Slytherin colors. He transfigured a pair of his shoes for her to wear. "I'll look for your wand later. Floo to my office, and pray that the Headmaster isn't there. No, wait. The classroom next to mine was the poison classroom. There's a floo connection from this room to there. Use that."

Hermione nodded.

Severus didn't watch her leave. He stared around his bedroom. There was no evidence of her presences in the room. He walked to the bathroom. He grimaced as he stepped in a puddle. There were several large puddles leading to his large sunken pool he used as a bathtub. A garnet red hair ribbon laid half in the water. He groaned. Did they fornicate in here as well? In his bath? He turned away from the sight. The mirror came into view. There was a hickey on his neck. Luckily, his teaching robes would cover the mark up. A careful check only revealed one other hickey on his stomach. No worries about hiding that one.

* * *

Hermione sprinted the several yards to the potion classroom. Only after opening it, did she remember that Professor Snape's office was across the hall from the classroom. She swerved to go to the office. Professor Dumbledore was walking around the room touching objects as he went along.

"Professor," Hermione greeted, glad her voice didn't sound out of breath.

"Ah, Miss Granger. Professor Snape is running a bit late. Would you mind taking his place until he arrives?" She nodded. She took the notes he offered her. A twinkle appeared in his eyes. "My dear, were you running a bit behind as well?"

"Why do you say that?" she asked with slight alarm.

"I've never seen your hair this wild before. Have fun."

Hermione touched her hair as he left. There was nothing to be done about it now. She needed to run to her room before next class anyway. That would be her opportunity to tame it. She walked into the potion classroom calmly, clutching the notes to her chest.

"Hermione," Harry called to her.

Hermione turn to look at him. She blinked. He had green hair. She squinted her eyes a little to make out the mark on his cheek. A snake? She noticed the few Gryffindors in the class all had green hair and snake tattoo. What was that about?

"Hermione, where have you been? We've looked everywhere for you," Ron whined.

Both Ron and Harry wanted to become an Auror. They needed advance potions to become accepted into that program. They needed all of the luck they had to pass their NEWTS.

"Hey, Granger doesn't have green hair," someone said behind her.

She turned around. Draco stood there. "Of course I don't have green hair," she snapped at him.

"You all were to have green hair and a snake tattoo painted on your cheeks."

"I don't understand."

Draco smirked. "Remember last night? Slytherins won the bet."

"I wasn't there last night, Draco." She walked away from him to the front of the class. She was late starting the lesson. She ordered everyone to their seats. The order went unheeded for a few minutes. She started the lesson, which was mostly a few warnings and hints to help the students finish their experimental potion they were asked to make.

She got out her cauldron from its safe spot and set in on her desk. She started to reach for her wand but realized she didn't have one. How was she going to finish her project? She glanced around at her other classmates. Each one of them was busy mixing and cutting ingredients. A closer look at Ron released her worries. Ron was working with a stirring rod. She had forgotten about that. She rarely used her stirring rod. Using a wand helps to strengthen a potion. She reached to grab her backpack. She caught nothing but air. She pushed back her chair to look under the table. No backpack. Where was it? She dropped her head on the table in defeat. Everything she needed was in her room. Professor Snape would never allow her to go to her room to collect it. _I'm sorry, Professor, I didn't have time to run to my room to get my stuff after leaving your bed. _She snorted. Even if he wanted to let her get it, he couldn't. Professor Snape didn't allow anyone to leave for that, and that included his own House he favors. It would look funny if he let her do so.

"I see you haven't blown yourselves up in my absence," Professor Snape remarked as he enter into the classroom. He glanced around the room. He smirked as he noticed the green hair of the Gryffindors. All but one. Opps. He completely had forgotten to switch Hermione's hair. He put that thought in the back of his mind. She'll think of something for the reason why she didn't sport Gryffindor's new hair color. Why was her head on the desk? "Ten points from Gryffindor, Miss Granger. There is no sleeping in my class, even if you began this lesson."

She didn't lift her head. He strode up to her table and stood next to it. He waited for her to acknowledge his presence. Just because of last night's activities, she wasn't going to receive special privileges. "Another five points for ignoring me, Miss Granger." Her head snapped up. That was much better. He crossed his arms. "Why are you not working?" He learned forward.

She stared at him. His face was so close to hers. Her eyes dropped from his to land on his lips. As soon as she realized where they landed, she quickly looked him in the eyes. She wet her lips. "I was in a hurry, sir. I left my bag in my room."

Of course she wouldn't have her bag. Why didn't they think about that? He straightened as he thought fast. "Detention tonight at seven. School does not end until the end of the week. You are still being taught until then. Do remember to bring your school work with you." He started walking to the front of his class. "And dress properly," he couldn't help but add. He smirked. Her hair was everywhere. It would not have done well for her potion if a strand of her hair made its way into her potion--or even into a classmate's potion near her.

Harry turned around to look at her while Professor Snape was busy scaring another student. He leaned in closer to her. "Hermione?"

"Hmm?" she asked in a daze.

He was worried for her. "Why are you in a Slytherin uniform?"

"What?" She glanced down at herself. Sure enough, a green and silver stripped tie was around her neck. She didn't need to push her hair away to find a Slytherin insignia embroidered into the uniform. She glared at her professor's back. How was she supposed to explain this?

Severus felt the glare. He turned and found her stare. That couldn't be because of his comment. That had been several minutes ago. He watched as he shoved her hair away and pulled out her tie. He suppressed a smile. He hadn't been thinking when he transfigured his bathrobe into a uniform. Was it his fault that he automatically thought of uniforms in his House colors? He turned back around. What was done was done.

Ron turned around. He was working on the same table as Harry. "What did you say, Harry?"

Harry pointed towards her uniform. "How did Snape know you weren't dressed right?"

Hermione didn't have an answer. She tucked her tie back into the school vest, and stood up. She took her cauldron back to its original spot. Severus noticed her movements and come towards her.

"What are you doing?"

"I can't do anything today, Professor. I'm going to go back to my room, change, and look for my wand."

Severus let her leave. He renewed the freezing charm on her cauldron for her. He began stalking about his classroom again. Mr. Potter was giving him strange looks. He decided to terrorize the boy.

* * *

Hermione brushed out any winkles she had created in her skirt. She was nervous, and she wasn't quite sure why. This was her professor. There was nothing to be nervous about. They both were mature adults. They could figure this out and deal with it. Neither one of them would tell another soul about last night. They both would be in trouble.

She touched her backpack. Professor's Snape's bathrobe was folded nicely inside. She had found it transformed after lunch. Her clothes from last night, along with her wand, must be somewhere in his rooms. They weren't in her room last time she checked. She was fortunate that she didn't have transfiguration today. She performed wandless charms in her charms class. All her other classes didn't require a wand.

She raised her hand to knock on his office door. She hoped he gave her detention to talk about last night, and not for spite.

"Come in," he barked through the door.

She opened the door. He sat behind his desk, grading papers. He didn't glance up when she entered. She took a seat in front of him and waited quietly for him to finish.

Severus finished marking the essay. He put his red tipped quill away. He studied her for a minute. She was lost in thought, staring slightly off to the side. She was now in her own school uniform. Her hair was semi-tamed. It was pulled back into a ponytail with a gold ribbon. Did she always wear a ribbon? He couldn't recall. Her ribbon left in his bathroom was now tucked into his armoire. He didn't have a reason for why he wanted to keep it. And he didn't want to examine too closely on why he kept it. It was better not to thing about it and move on.

He withdrew his wand from his sleeve. He locked and placed a silencing charm on the room. The action must have pulled Hermione from her thoughts. He inwardly smirked to himself when she blushed.

Hermione took out his bathrobe and handed it over. Severus took it. He placed it off to the side of his desk, away from the inkwells. She cleared her throat. "Professor, have you found…"

"Your clothes? No."

"My wand?"

"I haven't found that either. Have you checked your room? The house elves may have brought them there."

She gave him a look of disbelief. "Certainly. That was the first thing I did. Are you sure you looked everywhere? I need my wand."

"Miss Granger, they are not in my rooms. I even enlisted the help of a house elf. Your items are not there. Have you thought more of what could cause this?" He switched topics easily and swiftly.

She nodded. "I asked Harry and Ron about the punch. They told me that someone spiked it, but no one had the same effects we developed. It had to be something else, or a combination of the spiked punch and something else."

Severus tapped his fingers on his desk. He didn't remember tasting anything in the punch. It was possible that there was something in it that he couldn't distinguish from the taste of the punch. He felt that was highly unlikely. A Potion Master was good at noticing a small difference in a potion or drink. He asked about the substance the punch was spiked with.

She replied that she didn't know. "Harry thought it was a Slytherin who did it. But Ron had a look on his face. He must have seen who it was. If it was a Slytherin, he would have spoken up. Ron would have said something if he had done it."


	2. The Encounter Near the Door

Morpheus Amoretti

By: Sasusc

Spoilers: None

Summary: Hermione keeps waking up next to one Severus Snape, and neither one of them knows why. HGSS

Chapter Two: The Encounter Near the Door

* * *

Hermione woke up with someone pounding on her door. She shot up, pushing herself up with her arms. She felt arms tighten around her waist drawing her back to the bed. She didn't land on the mattress. She landed on a hard body. She yelped. The man groaned beneath her. 

"Professor?" she asked. He didn't need to reply to confirmed her suspension

His arms left her waist to shove her hair out of his face. He glared up at her. "Did you have to fall on me?" he hissed quietly.

"You pulled be down," she whispered.

"Hermione!" someone called from behind the locked door.

She rolled off of her professor. She glanced around the room. This time, they were in her bedroom. Her uniform was scattered around the room. There was no trace of her professor's clothes. Ha! She wasn't the only one who couldn't keep track of their clothing.

"Open up. I need to talk to you!" Hermione recognized that voice.

"Hold on, Harry," she called out to him.

She pulled the sheets off of the bed and wrapped them around her. "You need to hide," she whispered. She grabbed his hand and pulled him towards her bathroom. He allowed her to drag him there. "Stay there. Don't make a sound." She shut the door.

She hurried to her bedroom door. She opened it far enough to stick her head out. "What do you want?"

Harry grinned at her. "Can I come in?"

"No, I'm not dressed."

Harry ignored her. He pushed open the door. "It's not like I haven't… Are you naked underneath that?" he demanded.

She quickly shut her door. "Yes, Harry. Can you please tell me what is so important to wake me up?"

Harry stepped farther into the room. He noticed the state of her clothes thrown around the room immediately. "We didn't see you come up. Who is he? Is he still here?"

"Who?"

Harry wiggled his eyebrows. "The guy you shagged last night." A huge grin appeared on his face. "He had to be the reason why you missed the study group."

Hermione touched her forehead. She was suppose to help the younger Gryffindors study for their OWLS they were taking. How could she have missed that? She sat down on the bed. "I'm sorry, Harry. It must have…slipped my mind."

Harry decided against sitting on the bed. "That wasn't why I wanted talk to you."

"It wasn't?"

He shook his head. "Nope. I was wondering…if you talk to Ginny recently."

"Why?"

"I was, um, wondering if she mentioned us."

Hermione smiled at him. "You know, she's my friend too. I won't give away something she told me as a friend. If you want to know something, talk to her."

"Well, I…wanted to know how she felt about me."

She laughed. "Harry, you know she's crazy about you. Why do you need to ask?"

"I want to ask her to marry me. I know she still has one more year at school, but…" He trailed off.

Hermione jumped off of the bed and hugged him. "Oh, Harry! Just ask her. But don't just blurt it out as you like to do. Take her somewhere nice. Be romantic."

"I know that. I have it all planned."

Hermione released him. "Now, leave," she said grinning. "I've got to get dress."

Harry walked to the door. He paused with his hand on the doorknob. "Oh, Hermione?"

"Yes?"

"You do know you have to tell me later who's hiding in your bathroom."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Harry laughed as he left.

Hermione went and locked the door. "You can come out now."

Severus left the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his hips.

She pressed against the back of the door as she stared at him. Yesterday morning, she barely got a glimpsed of his chest before she fell back to sleep. He was lean, she hadn't noticed that earlier. His robes hid that. She noticed a few scars crossed his chest. There was still a faint outline from where the Dark Lord's mark had been on his arm. She thought the mark disappeared with the dark wizard's demise. His legs were long and muscular. Her eye went back to his face when he cleared his throat. She blushed.

"If you're done, may we figure out how this happened again?"

Hermione gathered the sheets around her and moved towards the bed. "It's safe to rule out the punch, correct? That wasn't a factor last night. And the lemon drops. I didn't have one of them yesterday, either."

Severus paced. "There has to be a reason why we keep ending up in bed together. What do you remember from last night?"

"Your office. We were trying to figure out what caused this."

He nodded. "That is where I stopped remembering as well."

They must have traveled here through the floo network, especially if neither Harry nor Ron saw her come up her room. Both the Head Boy and Girl's rooms were connected by a common room. A fireplace was set up there for easier accessed for all of the Houses. He had already told her the floo connection to her own fireplace wasn't connected to any of his connections. But the common room between the Head Boy and Girl's rooms should have had a connection from Professor Snape's office. She mentally slapped herself. She could have flooed from his office to the common room yesterday morning. Why hadn't she thought about that then? If they had used that floo connection, did the Head Boy see anything? She would need to ask him when she was dressed and her professor was back where he should be.

"Your wand!" Hermione stared at him, eyes wide open. "Do you have your wand?"

They both started looking around the room. They were only lucky last time because he still had his wand to transfigured clothes for her.

"Bloody hell," he exclaimed when their search turned up nothing. "I can't leave here wearing a bloody towel."

Hermione bit her lips to keep her giggle inside. He sounded so sexy when he said that. She gasped. Did she just think that? She shook her head. No, impossible. Professor Snape was not sexy. _But that voice of his_… Oh, God. She was losing more then her memories. She was losing her mind.

She needed to get him out of here. He was messing up her mind. She hurried around the room collecting items.

"What are you doing?" he demanded.

Hermione glanced over her shoulder. "I'm getting dressed." She walked into the bathroom and shut the door. She quickly changed into jeans and a t-shirt. She'll change into her uniform after he left.

She crossed the room. "You stay here. I'm going to see if the coast is clear."

Severus quickly followed her to the door. He came up behind her and slapped his left hand on the door next to her head, preventing her from opening it. Hermione turned around to demand he remove his hand off of the door. The words got stuck in her mouth. She was staring at his chest. Naked chest. She swallowed.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Hermione lifted her eyes up to meet his ebony eyes. She reached back and grabbed the doorknob for support. She got lost in his eyes. He was waiting for an answer. The Gryffindor couldn't recall what he had asked.

Severus's eyes dropped from hers to her lips. What the hell, he already slept with the woman twice. What's one kiss compare to that? At least now, he could remember what it felt like instead of wondering. Had he been wondering? He couldn't say. He leaned down and took her mouth with his.

Hermione didn't respond at first. She was surprised that he was even kissing her. Sure they woke up naked next to each other two mornings in a row, but they were under an unknown influenced. They really didn't have a choice, now did they? Were they still under its influence? Her arms moved up his chest to wrap around his neck. One hand went into his hair, while the other traveled down his back.

His right arm pulled her tighter against his body. His other hand slipped from the door to cup the back of her head. They fell the several inches back to hit the back of the door. They barely noticed the slight pain it caused. They were too involved in the kiss.

He pulled back slightly. Her eyes were still closed from their kiss. He groaned. He let his head drop to the door beside her head. What was he doing? He was kissing his student. He had no right to do that. He growled in frustration. He was going to be a dead man when Dumbledore finds out. More then dead when Minerva McGonagall finds out he molested her favorite student. He restrained himself from beating his head against the door.

She opened her eyes. Her arms were still wrapped around him. Her head was now in the crook of his neck. He did smell nice, like herbs and spices. The scent brought back a memory. A memory that disappeared before she could grasp and examine it closely. All she got from it was an image of the two of them standing very close together. Did the closeness to him dig up that memory? Could more memories of their two nights spent together be revealed the longer they stayed close together like this? She held mix feelings about learning more. On one hand, she wanted to know what she and Professor Snape did together. On the other hand, this was Professor Snape, the most hated professor at Hogwarts.

"I'm going to check to see if it's safe for you to use the floo out there," she whispered. Her earlier mission suddenly remembered.

The Potion Master didn't move right away. He gathered the few remaining thoughts he had before turning away from her.

Hermione scrambled out of the room. She crept silently over to the Head Boy's room. She didn't hear a sound. He must have already left for breakfast. She sighed. It was too bad she couldn't have been as kind as Professor Snape had been yesterday morning. At least he allowed her to stay for breakfast. She had nothing to offer him. She went back to her room.

Professor Snape was looking out of her window. The lacy curtain held back by his hand. She smiled at the sight. "It's okay to come out." He let the curtain drop back in its place. She held the door open for him to walk through. Her hand reached out to touch his arm as he passed. He stopped walking and looked down at her. "I'm sorry I can't offer you breakfast," she said softly, looking at her hand on his arm. She glanced up to look at his face. "Do you…do you want me to come by your office so we can figure out how…what happened yesterday to…do this again?"

"I don't think that's a good idea. We shouldn't be anywhere near each other tonight."

Hermione dropped her hand. She watched him walk to the fireplace and grabbed the floo powder kept on the mantel.

"Are you patrolling the halls tonight?"

"I almost always do," he replied.

"Don't patrol near the great hall. That's my area tonight."

He nodded. He threw the powder into the fireplace and called his room. Seconds later he was walking into his own bedroom. He headed for his bathroom to take a quick shower. He came up short when he noticed his wand on top of his armoire. How did that get here? Miss Granger's wand hadn't been found. He assumed his wand and clothes were in the same place her items were hidden. Why was his wand given back to him and not hers? He would never have left his rooms without it tucked away somewhere on his person. He doubted that he would have left his wand in this room. It was a question that followed him throughout the day.

H A R R Y P O T T E R

* * *

Hermione sat down in her usual seat at the Gryffindor table. Harry smirked at her as she put a muffin on her plate. Ron gave her a look through a mouthful of eggs. 

"Why are you so late?" he asked as soon as he swallowed the food. He had learned over the years that she would not answer him if he asked with his mouth full.

"I'm not late," she replied.

"Yes, you are. At least late by Hermione's standards. You're usually here before we are." She glared at him over her muffin. He grinned. "Did Snape make you stay up all night? Is that what caused you to be late?"

Hermione choked. Harry patted her on the back. She coughed in her hands. He was only thinking about the detention she had with him, not sleeping with him. He couldn't know anything. "No," she finally managed to say. She picked up her cup of orange juice.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked.

She nodded. "I have to check something in the library about my Magical Theory class. I'll see you both later."

Harry and Ron watched her walk away. There was something going on with her, and he didn't think it was entirely about the secret boyfriend she's keeping quiet about. Did something happen with Snape? Harry clenched his fist. If that bastard said something to her, he was going to kill him. He looked across the table at his best friend.

"Ron, do you know if she's seeing someone?"

Red hair flew as he shook his head. "No, why?"

He motioned for Ron to lean across the table. He answered him in a low whispered. "I went to see her this morning. She was hiding someone in her bathroom."

"What?"

"Shh!" Harry hissed as Gryffindors around them pause to look at them. He motion for them to go about their business. Eventually, most of them turned back to their breakfast. It was not unusual for little outbreaks to happen along any of the table. It wouldn't take long for whatever was being discussed to make its way along the school's grapevine.

"What do you mean she was hiding someone in her bathroom?" Ron whispered.

There were still several Gryffindors keeping an eye on them. Harry picked up a piece of toast and his bag. He stood up. "Come on. Let's go somewhere quiet and talk."

Ron copied his movements. They finished their toast before they even reached the doors of the great hall. They located an empty classroom. Harry charmed the door to lock and placed a minor silencing charm around the room. He knew his friend wouldn't want her private life to be aired around the school. She hated to have anyone talk about her personal affairs behind her back. The boys didn't blame her. They felt the same way.

Ron repeated his earlier question. Harry told him of the state of Hermione's room and how she looked when she answered the door. Harry had never seen Hermione looking as feminine as she had this morning. He had seen her several times in dresses and makeup, but it was another thing to see her freshly awake in nothing but a thin cotton sheet. If he didn't have Ginny and was willing to risk their friendship, he might have thought about asking Hermione Granger on a date. He focused his thoughts back to Ron and the discussion he had opened. "I know someone was in her bathroom. I noticed the bathroom light turned on while we were talking. I don't think she noticed it."

"Who do you think the bloke is?"

"Someone in her advance classes," Harry theorized. "Maybe someone we might not approve of?"

Ron agreed. "A Slytherin, perhaps?" They both scrunch up their faces at that thought. "What could she see in one of them?"

"More importantly," Harry added, "how did she get him in her room without anyone noticing?"

Ron nodded. The Head Boy and Girl rooms weren't in any of the House common rooms, but the only entrance to the Head Boy and Girl's common room was through a House common room. They were up late last night in the common room. They didn't see her come in.

"Do you think this bloke gave her the password for his House, and that's how she went to her room?"

Harry shook his head. That was very unlikely. Someone from the other House would have seen her. They couldn't keep that kind of gossip to themselves for long.

"Whoever he is, she stayed with him that night before in his room."

"What?" Now it was Harry's turn to be stunned.

Ron nodded. "I didn't think anything of it yesterday. I figured she fell asleep in the library again during the party. I went up to her room that night to tell her about the bet we lost to the Slytherins. She wasn't in there. Remember, she wasn't at breakfast either. The first time we saw her yesterday was in Potions."

Harry did remember. "And she was in a Slytherin uniform!"

"Her hair was a mess. She would never go to a class with hair like that if she didn't have too."

"She's sleeping with the enemy!" they shouted in unison.

"Let's kill him," Ron growled.

Harry nodded. "Or scare the hell out of him."

"Slytherins like to keep to themselves. If she is seeing one of them, they might not say anything. Maybe that's why we haven't heard anything about Hermione's man?" Both boys agree with this. Slytherin business was Slytherin business. Very few internal problems of the House were made public for the school's gossips.

They devised a plan. They were going to find that Slytherin one way or another. Ron was going to watch the Slytherins to see who looked the most at Hermione. Harry was going to watch Hermione to see which Slytherin she was looking at the most. Together, they could find out who the man was. Hopefully it wouldn't take too long to discover the man's identity.

H A R R Y P O T T E R

* * *

"Severus, my boy," Albus proclaim when the Potion Master finally showed up for breakfast. He scowled at the older man. "You're in a cheerful mood today. Did you sleep well?" 

He didn't bother to look up when he replied. "I don't remember." Which was the truth, he thought darkly, he didn't remember anything of last night. He discreetly looked at the Gryffindor table at Miss Granger. Whatever Misters Potter and Weasley were talking about didn't agree with her. She had choked on her breakfast.

"Well, Minnie informed me that you gave our Miss Granger detention yesterday."

He salted his eggs. "Yes, she came to my class unprepared."

Minerva learned forward to glare at him across the Headmaster. "I find that hard to believe," she stated. "Miss Granger is never unprepared. Was she missing an ingredient?"

Severus glared back at her. "She did not bring her bag to class. She had no way to work on her potion. I should have given her another detention when she walked out of my class without permission."

Professor Flitwick piped up. "She seemed disorganized in my class."

"Really?" The small man nodded. Albus tapped his nose. "Well, we all are entitled to an off day every now and then. It seems like she needed at least a day or so to relax and enjoy herself," he commented with a twinkle in his eyes. The comment earned him a sharp look from Severus.

He was reminded of the first time he and Hermione woke up together. They had both had swallowed a lemon drop from the wily, old man. He had the motive to lace the lemon drops with some kind of potion. He had told him on numerous occasions that he needed to loosen up and get laid. If that comment was any indication, he felt that Hermione Granger needed to do the same. Would he have killed two birds with one stone? He was the Headmaster of the school. There are rules against teacher/student relationships. Would he condemn them both? He hoped the old man had more morals then that.

He swept a glaze across the great hall. She was gone, he noticed, as well as Potter and Weasley. He told himself he didn't care where the three of them went off to. It didn't matter what Miss Granger did with her free time. She did not belong to him. He shouldn't have searched for her at the Gryffindor's table this morning

He threw his napkin on his plate and stood up. He had several essays to grade before his second year Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw class began. He couldn't remember how far he had gotten the night before.

"Leaving so soon, Severus?"

Severus glared at the older wizard. "I have more work to do."

"But you only ate two bites of your eggs," he commented. "You need to eat more, my boy. I'm positive your essays wouldn't run off while you eat."

"And they won't grade themselves either," he commented as he swept pass Albus Dumbledore.

H A R R Y P O T T E R

* * *

Professor McGonagall had just started her class when the door was pushed opened. She opened her mouth to start to demand the interrupter leave, when she saw that it was the Headmaster. "Professor Dumbledore, what brings you here?" 

Dumbledore's pointy hat drooped down. "I'm sorry to interrupt, Minerva, but may I borrow Miss Granger?"

"Can this not wait?"

"I'm afraid not." He twinkled at Hermione. "Bring your things. I don't know how long this would be."

Hermione nodded dully. How did he find out? That was a stupid question. Dumbledore knew everything that went on in the castle. She was surprise that it took him this long to say something to her.

"Miss Granger, please see me about this lesson when you have a free time."

Hermione nodded again. She followed the Headmaster with her eyes glued to the floor. She only had two more days until school ended. Was he going to expel her days before she graduate from Hogwarts? She could only hope that the Headmaster would take in consideration that both Professor Snape and herself had not willingly and knowingly done this. Would he believe her when she said they hadn't meant to sleep together? Her face hardened with determination. She had to convince of the truth.

"Ah, here we are, Miss Granger. Why don't you take a seat?"

She was surprise that they were already in his office. She hadn't had time to come up enough data to give to him. She slowly took a seat. She briefly noticed that Professor Snape wasn't in the room yet. Would he be arriving shortly? Was he going to talk to them separately? Had he already talked with his Potion Professor? Or was he going talk to him after he learned her side of the story?

"You must be wondering why I've brought you here. Lemon drop?" She shook her head. She couldn't eat anything. She already felt the muffin she had for breakfast wanting to come up. "No? More for me," he said as he popped one in his mouth. "I don't understand why many people refuse one. They are one of my favorite treats. I remember the first time I tried one. I was a young lad, somewhere around the age of five. My dear great-aunt came to visit my father. It was the first time I saw the woman. She saw me hiding behind my mother's skirts. You understand, my great-aunt wasn't a small woman. I always believe she had a little bit of giant in her. Not as much as Hagrid, but enough to stand out above the crowds. Where was I? Ah, yes, so she saw me hiding there and pulled her huge purse in front of her. I could have probably sat in that bag at that age. She would never let me try and see if I could. And out of that bag, she pulled out a small bag of lemon drops. She would only give it to me, so I had to come out from behind my mother. They were so good." He stared off in space, sucking on the lemon drop, deep in thought.

"Professor? Why have you brought me here?"

Dumbledore twinkled at her. "Yes, yes. Have you made up your mind of what you want to do after graduation?"

The question was unexpected. It took awhile for Hermione to reply. "I haven't decided anything yet. There is still so much I still need to learn."

He nodded. "Yes, yes. Professor Snape had a hard time deciding what he should do after graduation. He finally decided to go into the same field of study as his mother had. Mrs. Snape was one of the best Potion Mistress I have had ever seen, only surpassed by her son naturally. Have you thought of apprenticing? Professor McGonagall had a mentioned to me awhile ago that she had been thinking of taking on an apprentice. I know she wouldn't regret having you take that position."

"An apprenticeship in Transfiguration?" She thought about that. She did want to study more of the subject; and if she was at Hogwarts, she could even learn more from the other professors as she went along. Maybe even apprentice in more then one subject, she thought suddenly. She wanted to think about it more before she gave an answer. She told him so.

"I understand. Are you sure you don't want a lemon drop?"

"I'm sure, Professor."

"Call me Albus. You're only a student for another couple days. I'm positive you won't let Minnie down, so we shall be seeing more of each other."

"Alright, Albus."

He popped another lemon drop into his mouth. "How have your experience at Hogwarts been, my dear? I would like to know how a muggle born thinks of their experience at my school."

"It's been…magical. There is so much I've learn here. My studies in the muggle world has helped a lot in understanding how different subjects function. I've taught my father a little about Potions. It's very similar to muggle chemistry. I took some university level classes in chemistry over summer breaks. Potions helped me to get through the courses without any trouble."

Dumbledore asked her for more comparisons to muggle subjects. He grinned and twinkle at her words and enthusiasm for the subject. He hadn't realized that his brightest student had been following muggle studies as well. That shouldn't have surprised him. Hermione Granger always tried to find ways to learn more.

"Hermione," he said after a while. "I believe Hagrid's class will be starting shortly. I don't think you will want to miss it." He stood up, the ever present twinkle shining brighter. "I believe he has brought several naiads to perform for the class."

"Naiads? Here? Where did he find them?"

"Hagrid has his sources. Now run off. I haven't had the chance to tell Poppy that they are here. She would want one to come to visit the Hospital Wing before they leave."

Hermione was ushered out of the office. She walked swiftly in the direction of Hagrid's class. They were usually out of the classroom within five minutes to take a look at whatever creature he had to show. Thankfully, Hagrid had decided on a peaceful creature for them to view for their last class.

"Miss Granger."

She glanced to her left. Professor Snape stood in the hallway with his arms crossed and his trademark scowl in place. "Professor," she greeted.

"You will switch your patrol duty with Malfoy."

"Why?"

His scowl deepened. "I have been informed that I will be patrolling near the great hall. If we do not want a repeat of the last two nights, you will inform Malfoy that you have to switch with him."

Hermione shook her head. "He would never do it."

"He will."

"You don't understand. When we were dividing up the areas, Draco requested the area near the dungeons. I allow him that area because I didn't really care which area I had. He would not give it up."

She watched as he turned angrily and strode off. Her eyes lowered down the length of his back. She blushed and hurried away when she realized what she was doing. She had not been ogling her Potion professor, she repeated silently.

H A R R Y P O T T E R

* * *

Draco Malfoy had only meant to stop by the Slytherin common room for a short while. He wanted to talk to Pansy Parkinson without everyone listening. But the Slytherin wasn't there. He had been told by a snot-nose little brat, a first year, that she had went to the great hall with a group of seventh years. "The boy half of the Quidditch team" as he put it. If Pansy thought to make him jealous, she was going about it in all the wrong ways. His team members knew not to touch what was his, and Pansy was definitely his. Before he could escape from the room, a shadow fell on him. 

"Come with me to my office, Draco."

He followed the lean figure of his Head of House. He took a seat and waited for him to tell him why he was there. He couldn't think of one thing that he had done recently to warrant a trip to his office.

"You will switch with Miss Granger tonight for patrol duty."

"What? Why?"

"Do not question me, Draco. Just do it."

Draco stared at him in disbelief. Why would he want that switch? Why stick a Gryffindor in Slytherin territory? "You know as well as I do that a Gryffindor can't patrol down here as well as a Slytherin. That's why a Slytherin usually is assign to this area."

"I will not say it again, Draco. You will switch with Miss Granger. You will do it with a smile on your face. You will not question it."

"Just gave me one good reason why."

Draco would just keep digging deeper if he didn't give him something to chew on. "I have reason to believe that Potter and Weasley will be out after curfew. I want them to be caught. I do not trust Miss Granger to turn them in."

"How do you know she'll switch?"

"She doesn't care where she patrols, correct? She wouldn't care if you wanted a switch." Draco nodded. "If you do not do this, I will know. I'll make you regret this."

"Is there anything else you want to demand of me?"

"Go," Professor Snape ordered.

Draco left. He knew Snape's answer was not the truth. Hermione would turn her friends in if she caught them after curfew. Snape had even seen her do so a time or two. What was his true motive for having Granger in the dungeons? Was there something going on that he never noticed before? No, he thought, that couldn't be the reason why he wanted Granger down here. If he remembered correctly, Snape has patrol duty near the great hall. Now, why would Snape want Granger to be as far from him as possible? He was sure he'll find the reason before the day ended.

H A R R Y P O T T E R

* * *

Two Gryffindors were huddle close together. They watched from afar their third best friend helping the younger students study for their remaining OWLS. The taller of the two spoke up first. What he had learned today wasn't promising. 

"It's Malfoy," he stated with a growl. "He's a dead man."

"Malfoy?" the other Gryffindor said in aghast. "Anyone but him."

"I've caught him looking at her too many times today. He even whispered something in her ear." He shuddered. "What ever it was, she agreed to it."

"Isn't he seeing Pansy?"

Ron clenched the arms of the chair he was sitting in. "He's cheating on her?"

Harry rolled his green eyes. "I don't think it's Malfoy. She never really looked at him."

Ron looked at him. "Who do you think it is?"

Harry shrugged. "She hasn't really looked at anyone. During lunch and dinner she was mostly staring off somewhere near the teachers' table."

"She's seeing someone," Ron reminded him. "She has to have talked with him at least once today."

"True, but he might be in one of her advance classes."

"I still think it's Malfoy. He's Head Boy. His bedroom is practically next to hers."

They thought in silence as they watched their friend. Five minutes later, she checked her watch and left. Ron half got out of his seat. Harry pulled him back down.

"She's going to meet up with him," he hissed.

"She's patrolling, remember?"

"Oh, right. Hey, Ginny," he greeted dejectedly.

Ginny smiled at them. "What are you guys doing?"

Her brother perked up. "Hey, Ginny might know."

"Know what?"

"Who Hermione is dating, that's who!"

Ginny's eyes widen. "What? She's dating someone? Who?" She perched herself on the end of a footstool. "Tell me everything you know."

"You don't know?" Harry asked.

"Of course I don't. She doesn't tell me everything. I am a little hurt that she hasn't even hinted of some kind of romance." Ron filled her in the few clues they learned. "So, you think she's going to meet Draco tonight?"

"We don't know it's Malfoy," Harry told her. "He might have said something about their duties."

"We just have to find out if she slept in her bed tomorrow, or if he did. I'll go up there very early to check." Ginny got up and stood near Harry. She kissed him on the cheek, to spare her brother, before she left to talk to her friends. Ron gave them a mock glare. He was happy for his friend, but it didn't mean that he liked seeing him kiss his baby sister.


	3. One Last Time

Morpheus Amoretti

By: Sasusc

Spoilers: None

Summary: Hermione keeps waking up next to one Severus Snape, and neither one of them knows why. HGSS

Chapter Three: One Last Time

* * *

It was the crash that alerted them. They stilled. Neither one wanted to move. 

"Bloody hell," Severus whispered against her lips. He opened his eyes. Hermione Granger was once again in his bed and beneath him. Gloriously naked. The warmth of her bare skin against his confirmed that fact.

"Let's pretend we're still sleeping," she whispered back. She refused to open her eyes. If she did, then she would have to tell him to move his hand. She would have to get up and pretend she had been completely asleep moments before when they were kissing and touching.

"We can't," he said in regret.

He wasn't expecting it. She tightened her arms around him and hooked her right leg around his lower back to hold him down. _That _was the only reason why he allowed her to hold himself to her body. It definitely wasn't because it felt good to lie in her arms. It was also why he allowed himself to bury his head in the nook of her neck. He inhaled. Cherries. She smelled of cherries. He had been craving cherries for the last several days. Now he knew why. He's been subconsciously craving Hermione Granger.

"Daly is sorry, Master. Daly didn't know Master had guest. Daly will bring Master and guess new breakfast."

"I told that elf not to bother with me," he muttered. He should have been grateful for Daly's interruption, but he wasn't. Daly came to his room once a week with breakfast. She was one of the few house elves he allowed in his quarters.

She liked the feeling of his lips moving on her neck. She hoped he wasn't planning to move away any time soon. She wouldn't mind enjoying the feeling for just a little bit more. Unconsciously, she began to stroke his back.

Severus barely moved. He wasn't used to the sensation of someone willingly touching him. His father, being a muggle, only touched him in anger. He could barely recall his mother's touch. Living in the wizardry world, wands were use to torture people. No one needed to touch him as they forced more pain upon him. He could count the number of women on his hand that willingly came to his bed.

Hermione felt the stillness of her companion. She almost stilled her hands before she realized that the Potion Master was enjoying the movements. It didn't take too long for her to realize she rarely saw her professor accept human contact. He avoided it. Others avoided it.

The groan that escaped his lips told him to pull away from her. She was still his student, for Merlin's sake! He couldn't take any comfort in the girl. He had to remind himself forcibly that it was a girl beneath him and not a woman. He was twice her age. He could have had a child her age. She was a Gryffindor. She was a know-it-all. She was Harry bloody Potter's best friend. She had frizzy hair. He allowed any casuistries to spring to his mind to justify why he couldn't have this woman. Still, he was finding it hard to lift himself away from her.

She was becoming a lifeline to a way of life he never knew but had always dream about. Before the monster in him took away his innocence, if he ever had any in the first place, he longed for a life he saw in the houses around him. A loving family. A husband doting on his wife and helping his children grow up to be strong. The wife forever smiling and laughing, surrounding her family in her love. The children carefree and happy, never knowing how ugly the world around them could become in a blink of an eye. It was a life he never knew, but used to wish for as a child. The last several mornings of waking up in Hermione's arms reminded him of his long ago dreams. Her kisses brought forth those forgotten feelings. Her touches made him long for more honey kissed mornings and lazy stays in bed.

And it was those same feelings that unhinged him, provoking him to distance himself from her. He knew men that suffered and died from those same feelings. He killed many men who allowed themselves to become weaken and lax in their guard. If he immerse himself in the feelings Hermione's touch produced, he would become just as weak and defenseless as those very same men. Hermione could do what no other could in the twenty odd years he fought as a Death Eater and an Order spy and much longer in his father's hands: break him. She could utterly and ruthlessly destroy what remain of his soul. He knew he would never recover from it. His body tighten in response to his thoughts. He couldn't allow her to become anything more then his student.

The Gryffindor felt the change flow through his body. She knew they needed to get out of bed. She knew they needed to find out how their plans to stay away from each other failed. She needed to leave his rooms before someone discovered them. She needed a change of clothing. There were so many things she needed to do. If last night was anything like the previous nights, her clothing would be gone. She hadn't asked Professor Snape if he ever found his wand. If he didn't have it, she would need to borrow some of his clothing and hurry to her room before someone saw her. It would be tricky to explain why she was running around the dudgeons in borrowed robes, let alone those belonging to her professor, but she felt she had enough practice lying on the spot to come up with a convincing lie.

But she didn't want him to leave her just yet. She ran her hands up to his long hair and clutched it. She quickly tugged to force his head up. Hermione opened her dark eyes. He had a slightly shocked look on his face. It was nice to know he could still be surprised at some things. A wicked smile graced her lips.

"Kiss me."

Her voice was husky with desire and laced with her wants. The young witch wouldn't allow him to refuse her as if he could deny her request. She leaned forward and placed her lips on his, meshing their mouths together in a union that allow sparks to fly across their bodies.

He allowed his thoughts to slip away. This had to be their last night together. They needed to solve the problem that kept forcing them to wake up in each other's arms. _This _couldn't happen again even if his craving grew wildly out of control. She would be leaving school soon anyway. He probably would never see her again. Even if he couldn't remember the details of their nights, he would still have these kisses.

The two lovers let themselves be swept away in the kiss. It was a kiss they both believed would be their last. A kiss that was both forbidden and accepted, and yet it felt so right that it couldn't possibly be wrong nor denied.

* * *

Ginny started to knock on the door. It was early, but she knew Hermione liked to rise this early. If she wanted to catch her and her boyfriend, she had to arrive this early to catch them in the act. She let her hand drop before it made contact with the door. The knock would warn the couple--maybe even causing her to lose her chance at catching them. She placed her ear to the door. Silence. She couldn't hear anything. There were three reasons for the silence--no, four, she rethought. One: Hermione had placed a silencing charm on the room. Two: they were still sleeping. Three: they already left. Four: they were never there in the first place. She hoped reasons one or two were the answers. If not, she gained nothing on this mission except loss of sleep.

She tried the doorknob. It was locked. She pulled her wand out and tried a simple unlocking spell. It didn't work. She needed something stronger. This was Hermione after all. The witch knew her spells and charms.

"She's not there," a voice whispered into her ear.

Ginny jumped. Draco Malfoy stood before her, wearing the school's black pants and a white dress shirt left unbutton. He hadn't even combed his hair. She mentally grinned as she caught his bare feet peaking out from underneath the hem of his pants.

"What do you mean?"

"What don't you understand, Weasley?"

"How do you know Hermione isn't in her room? Did you see her leave?" Was her brother correct? Did Draco know she wasn't in her room because she was in his? She would hate to be Hermione when Harry and Ron confront her on her choice of love interest.

"I wonder, does Potter and Weasley know where their friend is at the moment?" He tapped his lips. A smirk appeared behind his finger. "I doubt it."

"You know who it is," she stated. Her eyes narrowed. "Who?"

Draco fiddled with one of the lower buttons on his shirt. "I have no reason to inform you of Granger's love life. If she wanted you to know, she would have told you, correct?"

"Since when do you protect Hermione's secrets?"

Draco didn't comment. The events of last night played through his head. He had followed his Potion professor last night on his round. Surprising, he hadn't been found out. Snape was a master spy and should have been able to detect him almost immediately. He accepted the fact he was going to be caught and questioned by the wizard sooner or later. He had hoped it would later rather then sooner except Snape must have been severely distracted. He felt that even with the most probable chance of being caught, Snape was his best bet for finding out why he had been commanded to change his patrolling duty for the night.

He had followed the wizard for almost an hour before Snape switched courses. He followed him down towards the dudgeons, towards Hermione Granger. They had just reached the beginning of the dudgeon patrol area when he was force to duck into a nearby hallway. He peaked out half a minute later. His jaw almost dropped in shock at the sight that greeted him.

Hermione must have jumped into Snape's arms. She had her hands tightly gripping his hair and her legs wrapped around his waist. Snape had quickly twisted their bodies to use the wall to help support Hermione. The maneuver easily allowed Draco a clear view of the couple kissing.

He winced as he remembered the harsh sound of Granger's head slamming into the wall behind her as she tried to allow Snape more room to kiss his way down her throat. That was as far as he seen of the snogging session. He had left quickly after that. He knew where the couple was heading, and he didn't want to be around to watch. This was his professor. If it was anyone other then Severus Snape…well, he wouldn't mind staying awhile to watch. He would have a few things to spread around before school ended, except letting the school hear about Snape's encounter with the Gryffindor would have been ill-advised. He would become a dead man. No, he would have to forgot everything he saw that night, wipe it clean from his mind.

He pulled himself out of his thoughts to stare at the redheaded witch in front of him. She had that look in her eyes. He didn't like it. He had heard and seen enough about her mother to know Ginny Weasley could be just like her. Molly Weasley was relentless when it came down to the health and whereabouts of her cubs.

He was not about to reveal Snape's name to her. He liked the wizard. He didn't want him to lose his job because one little slip of a girl nagged him to speak. He pressed his lips together firmly. Granger had a fierce temper on her. She knew enough to cause him some damage if it ever came out that he gave them up. Not to mention that Snape would kill him before she could get her hands on his body.

The young wizard knew he would come to regret his decision. He already resigned himself for the upcoming confrontation. Ginny would not leave him alone until she received a name.

"She's in my bed," he lied through a huge smirk. "That's why I'm keeping her secrets."

"Yours?" Ginny glanced across the room where the Head Boy's room was located. Was her friend there even now? Or had the Slytherin lied to cause trouble? Did he really know anything?

She turned and left without speaking to him. She had promise to report to Harry and Ron. They would not like her answer, but it was the only answer she had for them.

Draco slowly walked back to his room. He didn't want Ginny to think anything of his rushing back to his room if she happened to glance back. He doubted she would, but he would rather be safe then sorry. He sprawled across an armchair, unsure of what he should do next. He covered his eyes with the crook of his elbow as he thought. Potter and Weasley would come here. They might even use that map of theirs to locate Granger. Would it show the professor's quarters? Should he tried to send a warning if the couple were still together? Or should he try to cause a scene and stall Potter and Weasley before they could find anything? What would happened if he didn't do anything, pretend he knew nothing about this situation and allow it to play out as it would?

* * *

Dumbledore stroke his long white beard. Three sets of clothing and one wand laid on his desk. It was a safely guarded secret of Hogwarts that only the Headmaster (or Headmistress, as the situation may be) was enlighten to the information. Anyone else was told on need-to-know bases and then sworn to never tell a soul to protect the secret. Any student/teacher relationship was immediately notified via clothing and wand of the other partner. The clothing hopefully revealed the House of the student, and the wand was the proof of the guilty. The two uniform in his procession revealed that twice a sexual relationship between a student and professor happened in the professor's rooms. The other clothing revealed that the professor had visited the student's room. The professor's clothing and wand were rarely taken in this kind of situation. The dorms didn't provide any privacy for a couple.

He had ignored it the first time. And the second. But he felt he had to confront the couple after the third. This was just one too many times for it to have been an accident. That had happened before. Eight years ago, one of the professors had been working late with a student. The next morning he called the couple into his office. They both confessed. After shifting through their memories, with their permission of course, he knew they had told him the truth. The professor had been training the student all night, and they were both exhausted and hadn't been thinking clearly when an accidental touch led to something more. He cautioned the professor not to get into a situation similar to that night again. The girl was of age and wasn't coerced in any way. The situation was looked down upon, but it wasn't entirely forbidden so no action was taken. The professor retired the next year.

"How could you allow this to continue?"

He glanced at the painting speaking. Headmistress Vanek glared at him from behind her thick glasses. Her painted hands were fisted on her tiny hips.

"There are certain circumstances to this situation," he replied.

Another portrait joined the conversation. "You're up to your old tricks, my young lad. Never could keep your long nose out of another business, could you?"

"This was accepted in my days. I don't see why this rule was forged in the first place."

Vanek crossed several paintings to Rufus Vettius, a sixteenth century Headmaster. She bopped him on the head with a cane she had stolen from the portrait she had entered from. Vettius glared at her.

"This young girl had been taken advantage of three times!"

"She must not have minded much if she took him to her room. Lucky bastard."

"Shameful," Vanek muttered.

"Please," Albus said. "This matter will be resolved today."

The wizard stood up. He shrunk the clothing and placed it in a pocket. The wand followed the clothing into his pocket. No action would be taken, but he wanted to talk to the couple. This was the last day of the school year. After tonight, the young couple had every right to be together. He hoped that they could make a decision that would bring them both happiness.

* * *

"I knew it!" exclaimed Ron Weasley. "Let's go kill that bastard now."

"Hold up," Harry said. "Ginny brought up a good point. This is Malfoy we're talking about. He would say just about anything to anger us. Remember last year? He spread that rumor about you and Luna."

Ron nodded. A smile spread across is face. "I can still imagine the horrified expression he gave when his plan backfired."

"The Marauder's Map," Ginny blurted out. "Have you used it to find her?"

Both boys smacked themselves. "Of course!" Harry yelled. "Why didn't I think that before? We could have known last night."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "I could have slept a few extra hours," she muttered under her breath.

"We hadn't had it for a couple months," Ron reminded Ginny as an excused. "We've been functioning without it. We just stole it back several days ago."

Harry quickly located the map and brought it down to the common room. He spoke the password and spiky black ink spread across the yellowed paper. They located the Head Boy's room. Draco was alone in his room. Hermione's rooms were empty. They searched every inch of the map looking for their lost friend. Ginny jabbed a finger near a corner of the map.

"There she is!"

The room was located on one of the lowest levels of the castle. She was in the dudgeons. And she was near someone: Professor Severus Snape.

Ron placed a hand on his stomach, a green tinge sweeping across his face. "Tell me she's in the Potion's classroom. Or in Snape's office."

"She's not. She's in Snape's personal rooms."

Harry paled with rage. How dare the man use Hermione! The other day he had been running late to start the class. Hermione had to start it. She had been wearing a Slytherin uniform supplied from him. He had given her detention. Was there another purpose other then the usual punishment for the detention? He ranted.

Ron tried to calm his best friend. "Look at it this way. We always said that Snape needed a good shag. Now we know sex does not improve his disposition."

"Oh God," Harry muttered. "Hermione had seen Snape naked. She had sex with that great big bat."

"Don't do something stupid," Ginny comment as she started up the stairs leading to the girl's dormitory. "I'm going to try to get some sleep. Just remember this is Professor Snape. Don't forget all of the curses and hexes he knows."

The two boys barely acknowledged her warning and passing. They had decided that they were going to confront the greasy bastard. After they had their say, they were going to report it to Professor Dumbledore. He ought to know that the wizard was taking advantage of his students. Hermione couldn't be his only victim, they reasoned. They needed to protect their friend and any other female student under the Potion professor's care.

It took them longer then expected to arrive at the door the map marked as the entranced to the professor's quarters. The trick stairs rearranged itself several times--each time taking them farther from the passage they needed to take. Ron briefly thought that the castle was trying to keep them away, but dismissed that thought immediately when the stairs finally came to a stop in their favor.

"Ah, Mister Potter, Mister Weasley."

The duo glanced at the older man. "Professor," they greeted.

"You're here for Miss Granger, I presume. I will be taking care of the matter." He held up a hand when they opened their mouth to protest. "I will send Miss Granger to you when I am through. This is not entirely Professor Snape's fault. Returned to your rooms and informed Miss Weasley and Mister Malfoy to remain quiet on this matter. A young woman and a professor's reputation are hanging on the line."

Albus Dumbledore watched the young wizards march away from him. He raised his fist to knock on the door, glad that he had decided to take the long way to his employee's quarters. The floo network would have been much quicker but then he would have missed the opportunity to halt the boys from barging into the couple and possibly making the situation worst. Fortunately, he was able to block the Head Boy's fireplace to stop Mr. Malfoy from making the same mistake as Potter and Weasley.

* * *

"We have to stop," Severus spoke into the skin at her neck.

Hermione shook her head as she raked her nails down his back. She arched her neck as he nipped it. She didn't think she could stop. One kiss was not enough for them. The temptation to continued spread with each contact they had. How could this be so wrong when it felt so right?

Severus found the strength to untangle himself from the woman on his bed. An amused smirk appeared across his face. She was pouting. He reached down to touch her bottom lip. It was still soft and swollen from their kisses.

"We have to talk," he commented when she opened her eyes.

She gave a barely noticeable nod. She had a theory she was still formulating. Fred and George had design a potion based on memories and dares. The drinker would behave unnatural to their temperament, allowing them to do things they normally wouldn't. The potion had an additional bonus of having a memory alteration built in. The drinker would forget any actions induced by the potion. She recently learned that the potion had been mixed in with the punch from the party. She knew from their first night together that they had both had drunk the potion. Hermione theorized the siren gills they both had used the day of the party had gotten into their systems. The combination of the potion and gills could possibly contribute to their new habit of waking up together in bed. Except her theory didn't fully explain why they couldn't remember their nights together.

An owl from the twins had confirmed that the potion's effects should have only worked once, and the memory alteration would not have been as severe as Professor Snape and herself were experiencing. They had wanted the potion to alter the drinker's memories only for a short time, long enough for friends to make comments to their confused friend. The person would regain their memories in full within twenty-four hours.

Hermione was also informed that there were several safeguards placed into the potion. The twins had tried to think of every consequence their new potion may have, and had decided upon placing restrictions on it. The drinker would not be able to do anything they didn't want to do nor anything that may hurt them (or anyone else, for that matter). It also halted sexual responses. They didn't want to be responsible for anyone having sex under intoxication. Something else had overridden the safeguard for them to be here now.

"The house elf should be here soon with our breakfast," he commented as he pulled himself up and sat on the edge of the bed. He avoided looking at her. "I will bring you a bathrobe for you to wear."

Hermione pulled the sheets up around her as he left. She had hoped to have more information before giving him her flawed theory, but she had kept silent long enough already. Professor Snape would want to know about the potion and its properties immediately. He could possible fill in some of the gaps in her theory with his knowledge of potions and ingredients.

Severus returned a few minutes later. He had put on a pair of black slacks and his usual white dress shirt. He threw his dark green bathrobe onto the bed at Hermione's feet. He turned around and left as fast as he had entered. He didn't want to be in the same room with a naked Hermione Granger any longer then he had to. He was afraid that he would return to the bed and forget all of his reasons why it was wrong. He silently repeated each reason with each step he took from his bedroom to the small dinning room.

She was a child.

She was his student.

She was an innocent.

They were under an unknown influence.

He could lose his job.

He could lose Dumbledore's trust.

She was still a child.

He was a former Death Eater.

He rubbed his arm self-consciously where the Dark mark had been for almost two decades. Over the summer break, the Order decided it was best if they attacked the Dark Lord before he attacked them. With information gleamed from him and other spies, they found the perfect time to execute their plan. Harry Potter overpowered the dark wizard, and won the day. The Dark mark on each Death Eater's arm burned for over an hour after their master was destroyed. The magical ink used to form the mark had burned away, leaving deep scars in its wake. No amount of magic could heal or cover the scars. It was the price he had to pay for a foolish youth. It was a price he was more then willing to pay. The constant pain reminded him daily of his sins, not that he needed much reminding. The healers said that the pain would remain until his death, there was no cure or relief for a magical scar as deep as the tattoo had left.

Almost as soon as he stepped into the living room he heard a knock beating a rap on the main entrance to his professor quarters. He hesitated briefly in front of the door. Opening the door would change everything. And there wasn't anything he could do to stop it. Dumbledore was behind the annoying knocking. He knew the instant he opened the heavy door and saw the serious expression on Albus Dumbledore's face staring back at him. He knew. Dumbledore knew what he had done. The wizard always found out one way or another, and three days was too long to keep this--whatever it was--hidden from his prying eyes. It was only the details that became murky knowledge for him. Time had taught him to allow Dumbledore to supply the answers and wait to see what he really knew. There was a slim chance he didn't know about the previous two nights. Very unlikely, but possible. He didn't put much hope into it. He wasn't the kind of man to hope for the hopeless.

"Severus, I wish this was but a social call," he greeted the man. There were no twinkles in his eyes as he spoke. His eyes spoke volumes, all of it bad for the younger wizard. "I trust you realize the why of my visit." His voice was hush, sounding somber.

He didn't reply.

Dumbledore reached into his pocket and pulled out a wand. Severus presumed it was the missing wand of Hermione Granger. "Please give this to Miss Granger and meet me in your sitting room. We have much to discuss."

And without a word spoken from Severus Snape's lips, the Potion Master strode into his bedroom. Hermione was standing beside his bed with her hands folded in front of her. She looked calm and collected standing next to the bed post. She was the prefect picture of serenity. Upon further studying of her pose, he realized that she wasn't as calm as she first appeared. Her fists were clenched tightly around each other. Her left foot was twitching nervously. Her eyes gave away her state of mind. It was busy brainstorming, thinking of ways to help them get out of this situation.

"Dumbledore is here." Simple and to the point, it was the only way for him to tell her of the current situation. He didn't need to say anything else, the three words were enough of an explanation.

Her eyes darted to his as she took several steps closer to him. "Does he know?"

He raised an eyebrow as he glanced down at her. She was standing too close to him. "Does he know you're here?" She nodded. "Of course he knows you're here," he said derisively.

"Oh."

"Oh? Is that are you have to say?"

"What is there to say? He's here, he knows." She placed her hands on his cheeks and stared deeply into his eyes. "It's going to be alright." Oddly, she felt at peace about knowing that, smoothing all her rogue nerves. She reached up on her tippy-toes to give him one last passionate kiss. It might be her last time to do so.

Severus Snape didn't move. Not until her hands slipped behind his ears and onto the nape of his neck to deepen the kiss did he allow himself to move. Only then did he move, only then did his arms came up to wrap around her waist. He pulled her closer to his body so that she was flushed against him. It felt like heaven holding her this close to him. It was a forbidden heaven that should have been denied to him.

"Hermione," he whispered as he began to kiss his way down her throat. "Hermione." He moved his lips back up to her face, but paused just inches from her lips. He watched as she slowly opened her eyes and glanced up. "Stop. We need to stop. Dumbledore is waiting for us." He sounded more rational then he felt. He prided himself on his self control, and felt relieved that he was gaining his control once again.

Something flashed briefly through her chocolate eyes but it was gone before Severus could identify it. She pulled away from him to tighten the belt on the robe he lent to her. A sly smile curved her lips as she glanced towards the open doorway, and consequently towards one Albus Dumbledore.

"Do you think he knows what we were just doing?"

Severus rubbed his temples. He felt a headache forming, and he knew it would only become bigger as the day proceeded. This girl was going to be the death of him. He could fell it through the marrow of his bones.

* * *

Hermione quietly sat down next to her professor, making sure there was the appropriate amount of space between them. She kept her hands folded in her lap and her head held high. She wasn't going to be ashamed of what had occurred. Professor Snape and herself had never planned for anything like this to happen, and had in fact, tried to prevent it from happening again. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed her professor's posture. His head was bowed allowing a dark curtain of hair to obscure his face. His hands were fisted at his sides adding to his defeated look. He reminded her of a child who lost his best friend. She had to restrain herself from reaching out and trying to comfort the man. It wouldn't look appropriate. It would not help their cause to be seen offering comfort to each other.

Dumbledore studied his students. There was no twinkle in his eyes as he observed them. His Potions professor looked resign to any fate he was about to hand to him. Hermione Granger looked more confident and composed then Severus. It was to her that he addressed his questions. Miss Granger would be able to give him the a logical reason for their digression. He knew Severus. The wizard was pone to give answers with the most damaging character assassinations and little hope of redeeming the situation. Hermione was neutral in her answers, allowing one to see the possibilities and allow hope to fester for good or bad. Hopefully the answer was something he could overlook their budding relationship.

"Miss Granger, could you please tell me why you're in Professor Snape's private quarters?"

Hermione took a deep breath. "It started two days ago, the morning after the seventh year's party. I woke to find myself in Professor Snape's bed. I couldn't remember how I got there."

"Severus?" he asked in hope the wizard was better able to explain.

Severus didn't move.

Hermione never realized that her hand left her lap to cover the professor's hand. Dumbledore noticed. He couldn't find it in his heart to feel disapproval. Severus Snape needed someone to care for him, to bring him back from the darkness covering his soul. He needed this more then anyone he knew. How could he punish the man if he found something special with Hermione Granger?

"Professor Snape doesn't remember how I got there either. I immediately wrote out a list to find out if we had anything in common to cause our memory lapse."

"And did you?"

"We believe the fruit punch bowl at the party was spiked with a memory altering potion. But, the potion itself, should not have been able to allow Professor Snape and myself from…having intercourse." Her hand squeezed Severus's hand. "I--we believe that the potion became altered because of two other factors we both share. Earlier that day, both of us worked with siren gills."

"Ah, siren gills," Dumbledore mumbled thoughtfully. "the gills drew the two of you together and the spiked punch allowed you to forget your actions the next morning. What was the third common factor?"

"Lemon drops, sir."

"Lemon drops?"

Hermione nodded. "I'm not saying that you meant for this to happen, but you are known for lacing candy and the such."

Dumbledore pulled at his beard as he thought deeply. Had he laced his lemon drops recently? He didn't think so. His eyes narrowed in reflection. Last year for Valentine's Day he distinctly remember soaking several pieces of candy in a lust potion for his staff. Had some of it found a way into his newest batch of sweets? It was possible and would explain this situation…two days ago, not yesterday nor today.

"If, by chance, a lust potion found a way into both of your systems, it would only explain the first night. This possible particular lust potion only last within twelve hours."

"There, within, lays the problem," Hermione said. She had to ignore her anger at his words. The headmaster was careless to allow one of his students to consume a lust potion, let alone giving one to an unwilling victim. There must have been something else between them that could alter a lust potion, a memory potion, and prolong the lure of the siren gills. She missed something in her calculations. That something needed to be found. She wasn't sure how long the effects of…this would last. Was today the last time or next week? Could this last forever? Would they still feel compel to find each other even after they parted ways?

She stood up quickly and walked to Severus's desk. She pulled out a sheet of paper and pencil and started writing out the various ingredients in the Weasley's memory potion. After completing the list, she listed the ingredients in the Merpeople's Lure and the potion she knew Professor Snape had worked with that day.

"What are you doing, my dear?" Dumbledore asked. "I can not punish either one of you even if I wanted to. It's partly my fault for putting you in this awkward position."

Hermione didn't answer him. She had hardly heard his question. Instead, she looked over her shoulder to her silent professor. "Professor Snape, did you use flarifax weed or danillion petals in your potion?"

"Flarifax weed."

"Thank you." The list of ingredients were filling the sheet of paper. She circled the ingredients each potion held in common, and then preceded to underlined the most common elements as these were less likely to interact and alter the other potions. "Professor Snape?"

Severus didn't look at her. He hadn't even heard her. He titled his head to glare at the Headmaster. Albus avoided looking at him. He was going to kill the great wizard. His many years should have made him more careful of disposing of candy dipped in a potion. Now, thanks to the carelessness and a series of unfortunate events dealing with other potions, he sullied an innocent child.

"Severus Snape!"

His head snapped up as he turned to glare at Hermione. "What do you want?"

"What could change the property of belladonna?"

He thinned his lips as he slowly answered her. "As you very well know, Miss Granger, poppy seeds, unicorn blood, the hair off of a dragon's toe, dark chocolate in large quantities, and mint.

"And what could cancel the time restraints in most potions?"

He narrowed his eyes. He hated answering questions where the inquirer already knew the correct answer. "Ash and mint extract are two of the more common neutralizing agents. There are at least a half dozen other obscure ingredients which would cause similar effects."

"Do you use mint toothpaste, sir?"

"Miss Granger, I don't see how that is relevant to our situation."

Hermione arched an eyebrow at his sullen tone. "If you must sulk and wallow in your anger, do so after we are gone. It does not suit you. Your toothpaste, if you must know, will tell me everything I need to know about our situation."

"I am not sulking, Miss Granger!"

"Your acting just like Ron when I force him to rewrite his essays."

"Do not compare me to that imbecile!" he nearly shouted.

Hermione gave him a look before standing up and walked away.

"Twenty points, Miss Granger, for walking away from me while I'm still talking to you."

"Very mature, Severus," Albus commented. A twinkle appeared in his eyes. He hadn't seen Severus behaved like this since he was in school. It was very refreshing that Severus could still resort to childlike behavior after all this time. He needed Hermione Granger in his life to keep it balanced. This interaction between them only reinforced that idea. The circumstances of their getting together may not have been the best way to go about it, but the Fates knew what they were doing when the events snowballed into this.

"I am not acting like a child, Albus," Severus told him.

"You are sulking, my dear boy. It seems like Miss Granger discovered the reason behind your situation; and you were too busy hating yourself to realize it."

"What are you talking about?"

"It's the mint, Professor Snape," Hermione answered, bringing out his tube of toothpaste. "I ruled it out in the beginning because wizard toothpaste doesn't use mint for the very reason that it can affect a potion in small degrees. I use muggle toothpaste which uses mint. You also use a muggle toothpaste."

Hermione watched as his eyes narrowed in thought. "The mint could altered the Weasley's potion and the lust potion. But there shouldn't be enough mint in either toothpaste that strong to change them to this degree we are dealing with."

"Very true, Professor. Unfortunately, the kitchen elves decided to use mint in one form or another in several of their dishes they served throughout that day. Our toothpaste, alone, would not have made a noticeable difference in any of the potions were consumed that night. Combined it with the meals we had and the odd combination and reactions in both of the potions with the siren gills, we are left with this mess. This could have happened to anyone."

Severus didn't like that idea. It meant he could have gotten into bed with anyone and it wouldn't have made a difference who they were. It left him feeling a slight vulnerability over the potions he had mastered and trained his body to become immune to their effects.

Dumbledore fiddled with his white beard. He wanted to reinforced the positive effects this incident had on his Potion professor. "But it didn't. It happened to the two of one. One shouldn't dismiss the Fates. There is always a purpose, a greater meaning behind random events. The Fates wanted the two of you together." He smiled. "It took a lot for them to get both of you to this point. Don't waste it as being insignificant to the scheme of life." He glanced towards Hermione, as if he could read the thoughts racing through her mind. "Was it fate that brought you to Harry Potter, and thus helped played a significant part in the downfall of Lord Vordemort? Or was it random luck that you held the distinct knowledge to help your friend? Do not dismiss what can not be seen or positively tested, Miss Granger. How does one measure love? Love is a force that cannot be seen with the naked eye, nor be tested in a lab. But, my dear, it was the driving force that protected Harry Potter for years, and then later used to defend himself and others. Do you dismiss the love because one cannot calculate it? Do not be so sure to dismiss the Fates. We have our choices and free will, but it belongs to the large scale of destination. This day could be your sign, and I would grieve to know you could be blinded by the things you cannot see."

The wizard stood up slowly. "I hope the two of you will consider the possibilities that may lay in wait for you." Those were his parting words. He left before either one could open their mouths.

The couple glanced after the old wizard. Hermione stood behind Severus, the tube of toothpaste forgotten in her hands. She shifted her eyes thoughtfully down to her professor, her lover. Dumbledore's words stroke a cord in her heart for some unknown reason. It resonated from her heart to her head, and forced herself to catch the back of the sofa to steady her weaken knees. It screamed to her not to let this moment--this man--pass her by without giving it a closer look. It wanted her to be absolutely positive that there was nothing more then a chemical reaction to the digested potions going on between herself and Professor Snape. Because if there was something there, beyond the effects of the potions, it was her duty to test and examine all of the details before arriving to a conclusion. She didn't want to look back at this moment and regret the path she chose to ignore in favor of a more simple and untested reality.

This was her reality. This was her chance make the most of whatever life chose to throw into her path. Her reality revolved around the choices she will have to make regarding the situation and this man. She could choose to ignore any connection she felt for Severus Snape, and may one day come to live with regret and possible denial the rest of her life. Or she could choose to take the harder path, and learn something more about herself and what she could be capable of doing…of feeling. She may learn that the completeness she felt in his arms were nothing more then the byproducts of a odd combination of ingredients, or she may learned that this feeling went beyond all of that and could have been felt without the ingredients interfering in their relationship--that as time went by they could have eventually come to this point on their own. Wasn't it her obligation to find out?

"Severus," she started to say.

"Miss Granger," he cut in coldly. "Do not let the words of a mad man sway you. We are not meant for each other. We do not have a duty to see this--this relationship through to its end, and I do not know why either one of us would even attempt to do so. It would not end happy for either one of us. It would make us miserable."

He saw the hope in her eyes being crush. It was better this way, he felt, to end it abruptly and prematurely. These last couple of days would be the start and the end of their romantic relationship.

"I would suggest you go back to your room and start packing. The train will arrive early tomorrow morning and I'm sure you would want to say goodbye to all of your friends," he practically sneered at her.

He watched as she froze in her spot. It seemed like eternity of staring into her eyes and demanding her to leave him, but it was only seconds before a coldness replaced the shock hurt evident in her eyes. She stormed passed him, a cloud of chocolate curls floating behind her. He would have sworn he saw sparks of lightening sprouting out of that cloud. She reached his door before she stopped.

"Severus Snape," she started but couldn't finish. She clinched her fist and stomped her right foot. She let out a strangled scream/growl. She twirl around and left without vocalizing her thoughts.

Severus gave a small flinch as she slammed the door behind her. But it wasn't the sound of the door that caused the flinch. No, it was all the glass jars and other assorted glass items he had placed around the room that caused it. There was nothing left in the room that hadn't shattered or exploded on her exit. Several slivers found their way towards him and sliced into his exposed skin. He glanced around the destroyed room and gave a small bark of laughter. Hermione Granger had a fiery temper he hadn't expected to ever see. If she could cause this kind of damage unintentional, he hated to see what she would do premeditated.

* * *

Hermione Granger paused outside of the professor's door. She leaned against the door and brought the collar of the robe to her face. His special scent lingered on the fabric. She inhaled deeply as the tears started to flow down her face.

She was an idiot for even once considering beginning a relationship with Severus Snape. It would never have worked. She was a naïve fool to think anything different.

"You're wrong, my dear."

She gasped as she glanced up. The headmaster was standing in front of her. He reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder for comfort.

"Severus never did know a good thing when it hit him in the face. He's a very stubborn man, and very set in his ways. You have to be persistent with him if you ever want to get anywhere with the man. He's built walls around his heart, and he needs you to break them down." His hand traveled down her arm and pulled her away from the door. He tugged her down the hallway alongside of him. "Don't give up without a fight. I assure you, true love is well worth the fight." He smiled down at her. "And I know the best way for you do it."

She frowned. "Today is officially the last day of school. I don't think I could convince him of anything in that short amount of time."

He winked down at her. "Although I've offer you an apprenticeship with Professor McGonagall, I may have found a better place for you." Hermione frown in confusion. "How would you like to join my staff and become the newest professor of Muggle Studies? Professor Barrymore will be leaving us this summer to travel around the world. It would be an honor to have you replace her."

"But what about the apprenticeship?"

"I'm sure we could work out a schedule for you to teach and apprentice underneath one of our available professor here at Hogwarts, or maybe even work with one outside of the school if that is your wish."

Hermione let out an uncharacteristic squeak as she flung herself into the older wizard's arms. "I don't know what to say, Professor."

"Say yes. Think about it. And write me during the summer so we can plan your future here at Hogwarts."

It went against her nature to agree without considering all of the options available to her, but her heart spoke before her brain could process the idea. "Yes."

"Wonderful!" Dumbledore exclaim. "Just wonderful!"

She gave one last glanced behind her to the door that was now several yards away from her. She'll have the whole summer to outline her plans for Severus Snape. She wasn't going to allow the wizard to ignore this thing between them. They needed to see this development through for better or for worst. She had to know where this thing, their connection, would lead them. She smiled as she turned back around and stared in front of her. She could see the future in front of her, and she wanted to grab it with both hands and shake it for what it is worth.

Severus Snape better watched out. He wasn't going to know what hit him. She laughed in joy. She'll allow him the summer to think about what he might have loss when he kicked her out of his rooms--allow him the chance to regret it. And then she'll use the new school year to show him what he could still have.

* * *

AN: Thank you all for waiting this long for an update. I seriously thought I would have been able to update alot sooner then this. I lost my notebook with my notes for the story (and still haven't found it yet) and had to remember everything I wanted to do to end this. I've changed the orignal ending as I had wanted to have them saying goodbye at the train station, but I kind of like this new ending. It really helps to introduce the sequel I have in the works. And no, I don't know when I'll start posting that. I may or may not post the sequel as more chapters to this story or as a new story. Time will tell. And I will not abandon the sequel, as I have great plans for where I want this story to go. 


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